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Noncompliance on federal fair housing costs Missouri $500,000 annually
Every year since 2017, Missouri has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal money as a penalty for the state’s failure to meet the anti-discrimination standards of the federal Fair Housing Act. In 2017 the legislature passed a bill changing the definition of discrimination in the Missouri Human Rights Act and created an inconsistency […]
Missouri legislature signs off on a pair of public safety bills
The Missouri General Assembly passed two lengthy public safety bills with wide-ranging provisions Thursday, covering topics from celebratory gunfire to fentanyl test strips. Both bills are headed to the governor’s desk. One bill, SB186, returned to the Senate from a conference committee with the House having expanded it from 13 pages to over 180. Sen. […]
Missouri Senate committee considers removing restrictions on fentanyl tests
Fentanyl test strips are easily accessible over the counter in many states, but Missouri is not one of them. Missouri’s statute categorizes anything used to test or analyze drugs as drug paraphernalia, which makes illegal the possession of fentanyl tests, which can be used at home to test drugs and medication for fentanyl contamination. Senate […]
Senate committee debates bills to limit foreign ownership of Missouri farmland
Efforts to restrict foreign ownership of Missouri land got yet another hearing Wednesday in the Senate Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety. House Bill 903, which is the combination of four bills proposed in the Missouri House, would lower the maximum amount of Missouri farmland that can be owned by foreign entities from 1% […]
Missouri nursing home workers say staffing shortages have created unsafe conditions
Workers from nursing homes across the state held a press conference and vigil at the state Capitol Wednesday to call attention to ongoing dangerous conditions caused by staffing shortages, and to grieve coworkers and patients lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. The press conference was organized by health care workers represented by the Missouri/Kansas division of […]
Cybersecurity expert outlines worries to Missouri House committee
A former U.S. Air Force cyber operations specialist reviewed digital concerns ranging from phishing attacks to TikTok for a Missouri House committee on Monday afternoon. Cybersecurity has received attention this legislative session, with several bills proposed thus far in response to security concerns. For example, Senate Bill 380 and House Bill 668 would both create one-time grants of […]